Germany Guide
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
With only 1.8 million people in 23,170 square kilometres no Land in Germany is as sparsely populated as Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommeron). Bar the odd towerblock, the conjoined former duchies of Mecklenburg West and Pomerania, the eastern rump pressed into Poland, were barely developed under the GDR and, without any city worth the name, the state lay off the radar for most foreigners. Since reunification, however, its profile has grown alongside the fame of the quartzite beaches that fringe the longest coastline in Germany – 354km from the Trave River at Lübeck to Usedom on the border. That swish Baltic hotel-resort Heiligendamm hosted the G8 summit in 2007 testifies to an area that's on the up.
In fact, the coast is simply returning to form. During the late 1800s, Germany's first and second largest islands, Rügen and Usedom, were the preferred playgrounds of the German glitterati – the moneyed elite, assorted grand dukes and even the occasional Kaiser sojourned to dip an ankle at their smart sea-water bathing resorts. An injection of capital after decades of GDR neglect has brought a dash of former imperial pomp to both and also taken the resorts upmarket. Rügen is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the country, celebrated for its chalk cliffs above the Baltic Sea as much as its Bäderarchitektur. Elsewhere, the Baltic coast is true Hanseatic League country; the Gothic red-brick architecture of the UNESCO-listed Altstadts in Wismar and Stralsund are wistful reminisences of the former grandeur of this medieval mercantile power bloc. There's some heritage, too, in Rostock, the chief port and largest city in the state, but you're more likely to visit for its bar-and-club scene, the superb strand at Warnemünde, or as a launch pad for a superb Münster in Bad Doberan – a must-see for anyone with a passing interest in ecclesiastical architecture.
You don't have to travel far from the coast to enter a bucolic backwater whose ruler-straight roads are lined with avenues of trees and whose wheat fields serve as the nation's granary. The heart of the plateau is the Mecklenburg Lake District (Mecklenburgische Seenplatte) centred around Germany's largest freshwater lake, Lake Müritz, and the Müritz National Park. Nicknamed the Land of a Thousand Lakes and home to the largest contiguous area of waterways in central Europe, its aquatic mosaic is beloved by canoeists and birdwatchers alike. Ducal seat turned state capital Schwerin at its western end is the only large town hereabouts, albeit pocket-sized and packing a cultural punch to match that of its fairytale castle.
Highlights
1 Wismar A wistful air of faded grandeur pervades in the Altstadt of this splendid old Hanseatic port.
2 Rügen Historic small beach resorts and Hitler's colossal holiday camp are side by side on Germany's biggest island, celebrated for its dramatic white cliffs and woodland, and fringed by mile upon mile of powder-fine sand.
3 Schwerin Tour a fairytale palace that goes straight to the head, then take a lake cruise to see it from the water.
4 Canoeing in the Müritz National Park You could lose up to a week exploring a mosaic of interconnected lakes on canoe-and-camp adventures in the Mecklenburg Lake District.